Scapegoat
by Hyper Chef
Summary: Joey and Seyamchi have a misunderstanding. Can they overcome their inside demons? Please R


Hello all! It's me again. I'd like to thank you for opening this file, because obviously you had to, to be reading this.

This was a short one-shot fic I did for a friend. She drew this wonderful picture that I'm horribly jealous of, so I offered to write the fic for it. Well here it is. I worked all night on it. It is now bordering 12:30 and I'm very tired. So forgive me if this seems a little shorter than the author notes in A Pharaoh's Love.

Speaking of which, Fear not, I WILL update it soonish. I have to find the sixth chapter. Cause I wrote it down on paper. I have not forgotten.

On a better note, Bakura has returned. He's just as unhappy to see me, as I am happy to see him. Which is very much. Lol Unfortunately he's sleeping right now, and I don't have enough viewers to determine whether I feel like risking life and limb to wake him up. Oh well. On to the necessities.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. To tell you the truth, most characters here are original. Except for Seto, Mokuba, Joey, Yugi, Tristan. Yada. The name of Kaiba, Domino, the concept of a virtual monster world. Blah blah. You get the idea. Nor do I own most of the original characters. I own Andrew. That's it. Sad, isn't it? Shini, Seya, and yes, even Senshi, belong to Layla, Yosei to Amity; Kasumea to Mokuba (j/k). Nah, to Serpentnightwingweaver. can't remember the other two names. Sowwy.

Warning: None that I know of. Except sap. There is no yaoi in this one, so fear not once more. It's an angsty-sap misjudge type fic about Joey and Seyamchi, an OOC. Oh, and the title really has nothing to do with the fic. Well, it does, in a sort of abstract way. You figure out your own meaning for it. I like it.

This fic is brought to you by the insane mind of me. Oh… and tea. Highly sugared tea. giggle Please R&R

**Scapegoat**

Shinishojo frowned at the gaggle of teenagers in front of her. Her sister, Yosei, and their friends were talking about the new kid they had met yesterday. It was nothing shocking. Seyamchi had already mentioned that her cousin was coming to stay with them for a while. Some business project or another. So far they hadn't seen much of him but yesterday, during school, he had come in to sit in class with the other two Kaiba's.

What was shocking was that Seto had shown a tiny twinge of emotion other than seething rage.

Andrew Kaiba wasn't very impressive. But he instantly had the whole class enthralled with his presence. He seemed to take up the whole room. In fact, he was the only reason people were quiet enough for the teacher to talk. He was exactly like his cousin, in that fact then when he talked, you listened. The difference was, Andrew smiled more and Seto decided to take up less space.

In fact, it was really memorable day for her as well. She had to admit that all the Kaiba's had this gene somewhere inside their DNA that enabled them to be gorgeous without knowing it. It was frustrating at times, but still… Not that she would ever admit it to anyone. She'd have to die if anyone found out her secret. Well, not die…. Yet…. They'd have to die first... oh yes…

Yosei cringed away from her sister's evil look and the whole group fell silent until Shini glared at them.

Seyamchi Kaiba climbed out of her limo and stood on the curb waiting for her friends. She had arrived at the same time as always (set your watches by her, they'll always be accurate!), chipper and excited. She'd been waiting for a chance to see Andy ever since his last business trip to Domino. Well, maybe not Domino, but somewhere close enough for him to get a free five-minute helicopter ride to the office building

She smiled widely and tried to compare him to her brother. Andrew wasn't as smart as Seto, but he had the same confidence inside him that's found in everyone in their family. Of course, there's the little fact that he's also more open about his attitude. Joey seemed to take to him right away, though there was something reluctant about it. (Joey's had some bad mental experiences with the Kaiba family and their pet devil. Kasumea: I'm not a pet! Though I won't deny the devil. Hee hee)

Speaking of which: Joey, Tristan, Yugi, Yosei, and Shini were arriving now. Seyamchi waved to them and ran over, glomping them all. Shini strode to the school.

Yosei pounced on her almost immediately after. "Where is he?"

He's coming with Seto, any minute now.

Joey, Tristan, and Yugi shook their heads and proclaimed they were going inside. Seyamchi and Yosei just waved bye and stood on the sidewalk, watching for any black limos.

As they were walking away Joey shoved his hands in his pockets and grumped quietly to his best friends. "Doesn't it just make you feel forgotten?"

"Don't worry about it Joey… Seyamchi hasn't seen her cousin in years she said. And Yosei is always like that. You know they'd never purposely forget you." Yugi said.

Joey nodded, thoughtfully and sneaked a glance back to the girls. "You're right. Come on, let's get going, or we'll somehow manage to be late…. Again."

The black limousine pulled up to the curb and the two teens stepped out, only to be glomped by the giggling girls. Andrew gacked and stepped behind Seto to let him deal with them, smiling nervously. He'd just met Yosei, and it seemed he wasn't very affectionate.

Seto sighed and began the process of herding his sister into the school, knowing by instinct, or experience, that Yosei will trail along.

After school Joey saw Seyamchi walking along the sidewalk parallel to them. His friends hadn't yet seen her, and Joey quickly said he'd catch up to them, vanishing into the crowd. The others just shrugged and headed for Yugi's house.

Joey caught up with his friend (coughgirlcough) and fell into step beside her. They walked in silence for a few minutes before he got the nerve to ask what had been bugging him.

"So... this cousin of yours, Andrew."

"Yeah? What about him?"

"Is he in any way similar to your brother?"

Seyamchi stopped, confused. She put a hand on her hip and looked at him. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Joey paused and looked away, realizing this might be going the wrong way than he had hoped. "Uh... er... I mean... oh... never mind. It's nothing."

"Oh no you don't!" She grabbed his arm just as he turned to go, and looked at her, shocked and feeling slightly confused. "What do you mean 'is he anything like my brother'? Is this some way of asking my permission to hate him too?"

Joey's eyes widened. "Wha? I don't hate your bro-"

"Oh yes you do, don't lie to me Joey Wheeler! And if not hate, then greatly dislike. I know my brother's been mean to you in the past but that's no reason to insult him, or my cousin. Why do you just assume things Joey! Why can't you just expect the good in people instead of the bad? I know my brother is sort of a loner and I know he needs to get laid... but he's not a bad guy if you'd just get to know him. I thought Yugi'd been influencing your attitude but apparently I was wrong!"

Joey was shocked to see tears in her eyes and she hurried down the sidewalk to the large building that loomed ahead of them. He hadn't really meant that… He's just wanted to know if Andrew was a computer freak as well. Slightly hurt and now upset at being misunderstood he returned to Yugi's.

"I hadn't meant anything by it, but she yelled at me and stormed off. I didn't want her to get mad."

Yugi nodded in sympathy, Yosei hugged him, and Tristan shoved his shoulder.

Yosei turned his face to make him look her in the eye. "Well then, you should go apologize."

"Why me? I-"

"Joey… please. It'd mean a lot to her."

After a minute of thought, Joey nodded. All right. I'll do it. You know what, thanks guys. I don't wanna know where I'd be if I never met you." He stood up with a fist punch of triumph and marched dutifully to the Kaiba building. He got as far as the front gate and chickened out, turning around. It was then that he noticed a bush, some blocks behind him that was a little spikier and tri-colored that normal. He smiled again and went inside. He randomly found a butler (one of Quatre's old minions, # 324 to be exact) and asked for Seyamchi.

He informed him that the Mistress was currently in a virtual world and would he like one lump or two. After declining the mug of tea, and the mallet (if Kasumea and Mokuba were about) he requested to be led to the virtual machines.

Seyamchi sniffled. She was sitting near a lake in the virtual monster world and had been crying for some time. She hadn't meant to snap at Joey. She'd actually had a sort of bad day, with the exception of Andrew. She meant to apologize as soon as she left this world, but so far, hadn't had the courage to even try it.

Presently she wished she had someone to explain the problem to.

As if on cue, her best friend here, Senshi, a Celtic Guardian (Seyamchi would like all viewers to know that at this moment, on the first few takes, she squealed loudly and glomped the poor guy. It took us a few weeks to do this one because he had to heal several broken ribs. Thank you. ). He sat next to her on the moss and asked what happened.

A fresh new batch of tears, brought from thinking that Joey hated her now, caused her to use his shoulder to cry on. He just sat and rubbed her back, mindful of the wings, until she was ready to talk.

"I'm sorry… sniff Senshi." She sat up and rubbed her tears away on her robes. Around her the sounds and smells of spring were almost overwhelming. The trees were all in bloom, and somewhere nearby a batch of Scapegoats were talking with a Kuriboh about harvesting this year. "I had a sort of bad day today. I know I've told you my cousin had flown in last week."

"Ah yes… Your cousin. I hope to meet him soon, but I suppose that is not what you are upset about."

"No. In fact, the only good part about my day was my cousin. My brain was really off and some kid yelled at me. Then I had tripped sometime today and got dirt on my uniform. I had to walk home today cause my limo driver was sick and couldn't come and get me.

"Joey had found me walking and wanted to ask something of Andrew. I guess I just assumed the worse and I snapped on him. Now he hates me and might never speak to me again." She started crying again and Senshi wiped her tears away.

"Shh… it's all right. If I know Joey, and I should, for all you talk about him (joking), then he'll forgive you. Everyone has bad days. Especially Seishi. You should see him when he wakes up with a cowlick; it's funny. Why don't you go find him and apologize? I bet he'll be waiting for you."

"Yeah, you're right. Thank you."  
"No problem Seyamchi, I'm here to help you." He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

Joey's eyes widened and he turned away, shock and hurt written all over his face. He'd first arrived here, ogled his nifty Red Eyes armor, his weapons... blah blah. Then spent the last hour looking everyone in this godforsaken game for Seyamchi.

When he had finally found her, she was kissing a Celtic Guardian! (This not counting the fact that Senshi pulled away immediately after, Joey had no idea they were talking about him, and he was completely oblivious to how the monsters express their friendship!) He'd come all this way to apologize and now this!

Furious he quit the game, stormed out of the Kaiba building, passed Yugi's house, and went home.

Seyamchi got to school the next day searching for Joey. She'd hitched a ride with her brother today. The boy in question hadn't arrived as he usually did with Yugi. Having seen Andrew already she waved hi to Yosei and the others and hurried to where Joey should be. She hadn't gotten even a glimpse of him until the bell rang, but by then he was so far away and they had different first periods. She waited all until lunch, thinking about what to say.

Joey wasn't in the lunchroom either. Yugi admitted that Joey seemed upset and wouldn't talk. Where else would he be? The roof.

She went up there immediately. Joey was a solemn shadow in the sun's ray. She couldn't see his face from here, but she knew something was wrong. Confused she wondered if it was their argument. She sat down next to him. Normally he would have smiled and said something stupid… but not today. Seyamchi began to miss his perverted comments.

"Joe-"

"I saw you."

"What?" The words were so sudden she was caught by surprise.

"Yesterday. I went over to apologize. I saw you with him."

"Who?" She was feeling dumb at the moment. This wasn't where she expected this conversation to go.

"That Celtic Guardian."

"Oh! Oh. Senshi? Oh." Suddenly knowing what he meant she looked at her toes. Admittedly, it took her awhile to get used to the monster's affection as well. At first it had shocked her. But when they explained… it made so much sense. A thought struck her. "Are you… jealous?"

Joey looked at her. Aha, she had shocked HIM as well! Victory! "What!? Me? No!… Well…" He blushed in embarrassment and looked away from her.

Suddenly blushing herself, Seyamchi giggled. She couldn't help it. She inched so close to him, that if she inched any closer, her body would be perfectly aligned with his. "You ARE! You're jealous of a Celtic Guardian! Wait till I tell Tristan… and my brother!"

"I am not, you wouldn't…" Joey had spun so fast to glare at her; his nose was mere millimeters from hers. They both blushed a deep red. She laughed nervously and smiled. "Dare…" He finished lamely.

"No… I wouldn't. You have a lot to learn. He was only helping me. The monsters have a different set of morals than we do. I just wanted to apologize… For yesterday, I mean."

"Oh… really? Me… too." Joey seemed to be having trouble breathing.

"Yeah. I'm sorry Joey. Bad day." She leaned foreword and kissed him chastely and sprang back and up to her feet. "Come on, let's get back to the others. They'll be wondering about us if we don't show up soon."

Staying there a moment to make sure they weren't blushing anymore, they smiled and walked back to the lunchroom, chatting about anything in particular.

Andrew looked up and watched them walk in. They were talking as if nothing had ever happened. However, sharing a look with Shini (one that even they didn't know they shared) he knew; so did the two friends; that something had changed. For better or worse, not even a Kaiba could figure that one out.

Fin

Well, hope you liked the story. If I have spelling mistakes or something, please tell me, cause I have no beta reader and it's 12:30 in the morning so I'm not likely to catch them all. Anyone wanna volunteer to be my Beta-reader? Perhaps someone who likes all my fics? No Rika, you don't count. You love my fics just because I wrote them.

Again, hope you enjoyed. Amiboshi and Suboshi say hi. Their kitty counterparts went back home. Missed their kitty families. Cali is off visiting some friends and Baku-kun is asleep.

BTW: Quatre's minions are a private joke. Anyone who knows Quatre from Gundam Wing would sort of get it. Cause of the Maguanacs, and the fact that he's rich, we say he has hundreds and more of minions.

If you want to know who some of these characters are… you probably have to read the fics in Amity, Layla, and Serpents file's. You can find the other two in Serpentnightwingweaver 's favorite authors. This is a set of joint fanfics. Cause we're all friends. Ah well… nightnight and Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and every other holiday.

Ciao!

-Yami Kori


End file.
